 |
| Phil Jones insists he will not be wound up by Diego Costa if he comes up against the controversial Spain and Chelsea forward on Friday. |
Costa has gained a reputation as something of a wind-up merchant thanks to his on-field antics in the Premier League.
Arsenal defender Gabriel was sent off after clashing with the Brazil-born striker and last weekend Costa tried - and failed - to get a reaction from Ryan Shawcross in Chelsea's defeat to Stoke.
Costa grabbed Shawcross by the jaw and then told him rather impolitely that he had bad body odour.
To his credit, the Stoke captain kept his calm and Jones intends to do the same if he comes face to face with the 27-year-old in England's friendly versus Spain in Alicante.
"I have had (players trying to wind me up) before and I will deal with it in my own way if I play," the Manchester United defender, 23, said.
"When I was younger and growing up even in training if someone stuck one on me, even by accident, I would go after them.
"But now I am more experienced. I am not going to go around kicking players. I am going to stick to my own game if I get the chance to play.
"I think it is just a progressive thing.
"I started playing at Blackburn at a young age so as I got moved on to Manchester United the more games you play the more understanding and awareness you have of the situation you are in.
"This is football. You have to be mentally strong and prepared going into the game and I don't think that will be something that we will be focusing on to a great extent."
Jones thinks more will be known about England's Euro 2016 chances after the upcoming friendlies against stronger opposition, starting with Spain on Friday and then against France at Wembley four days later.
He added: ''We are under no illusions that we have to be at our best to beat the teams that will be put in front of us in the Euros, but these are good tests for us against Spain and France in the next week or so and we will see where we are after that."
Vbgamecoins:
24/7 live chat:
No comments:
Post a Comment